How to Deploy Overleaf – Open-Source LaTeX Collaboration Platform

Overleaf is an open-source LaTeX editor with a browser-based interface. It supports real-time collaboration, allowing multiple users to edit the same LaTeX document simultaneously. The Community Edition is the self-hosted variant, built for deployment on private infrastructure.

This article covers the deployment of Overleaf Community Edition on Linux using Docker Compose. It explains how to configure the Overleaf Toolkit and secure the installation with HTTPS using a Traefik reverse proxy.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, you need to:

• Have access to a Linux based server as a non-root user with sudo privileges.
• Install Docker and Docker Compose.
• Create a DNS A record pointing to your server's IP address (for example, overleaf.example.com).

Set Up the Directory Structure, Configuration, and Environment Variables

The Overleaf Toolkit manages MongoDB, Redis, and the Overleaf application as a single Docker Compose stack. Application configuration resides in config/overleaf.rc and config/variables.env. A separate Traefik container handles TLS termination and certificate provisioning through Let's Encrypt.

1. Clone the official Overleaf Toolkit repository to your home directory.

   CONSOLE

   Copy

   $ git clone https://github.com/overleaf/toolkit.git ~/overleaf-toolkit

   Explain Code

   Powered by Vultr AgentBeta

2. Switch to the Overleaf Toolkit directory.

   CONSOLE

   Copy

   $ cd ~/overleaf-toolkit

   Explain Code

   Powered by Vultr AgentBeta

3. Initialize the configuration files using the provided initialization script.

   CONSOLE

   Copy

   $ bin/init

   Explain Code

   Powered by Vultr AgentBeta

   The above command creates a config directory with three configuration files:

   • overleaf.rc: The main configuration file that controls top-level settings for your Overleaf instance.
   • variables.env: Environment variables that are loaded into the Docker containers.
   • version: Specifies the version of the Overleaf Docker images to use.

4. Create the directory for the Traefik route configuration.

   CONSOLE

   Copy

   $ mkdir traefik-routes

   Explain Code

   Powered by Vultr AgentBeta

5. Open the variables.env file using a text editor.

   CONSOLE

   Copy

   $ nano config/variables.env

   Explain Code

   Powered by Vultr AgentBeta

6. Locate the Overleaf configuration variables and update them as follows:

   • Set a custom application name.
   • Uncomment and configure the required site and proxy settings.
   • Replace overleaf.example.com with your actual domain name.
   INI

   Copy

   OVERLEAF_APP_NAME="My Overleaf Instance"
   OVERLEAF_SITE_URL=https://overleaf.example.com
   OVERLEAF_NAV_TITLE="Overleaf CE"
   OVERLEAF_BEHIND_PROXY=true
   OVERLEAF_SECURE_COOKIE=true

   Explain Code

   Powered by Vultr AgentBeta

   Save and close the file.

   Note

   OVERLEAF_BEHIND_PROXY and OVERLEAF_SECURE_COOKIE are required when Overleaf runs behind a reverse proxy. Omitting these causes cookie and redirect failures under HTTPS.

7. Open the main overleaf.rc configuration file.

   CONSOLE

   Copy

   $ nano config/overleaf.rc

   Explain Code

   Powered by Vultr AgentBeta

8. Set SIBLING_CONTAINERS_ENABLED to false. The Community Edition does not support sibling containers. Leaving this enabled prevents the application from starting.

   INI

   Copy

   SIBLING_CONTAINERS_ENABLED=false

   Explain Code

   Powered by Vultr AgentBeta

   Save and close the file.

   The overleaf.rc file controls:

   • OVERLEAF_DATA_PATH: Directory where Overleaf stores project data.
   • SIBLING_CONTAINERS_ENABLED: Must be set to false for the Community Edition.
   • MONGO_ENABLED: Enables the bundled MongoDB container.
   • REDIS_ENABLED: Enables the bundled Redis container for caching.
   • OVERLEAF_PORT: The port the Overleaf container listens on.

9. Create a .env file in the toolkit directory to store the shared environment variables. Replace the values as indicated below.

   CONSOLE

   Copy

   $ nano .env

   Explain Code

   Powered by Vultr AgentBeta

   Add the following environment variables:

   INI

   Copy

   DOMAIN=overleaf.example.com
   LETSENCRYPT_EMAIL=admin@example.com
   SERVER_IP=192.0.2.1

   Explain Code

   Powered by Vultr AgentBeta

   Replace:

   • overleaf.example.com with your registered domain name.
   • admin@example.com with your email address.
   • 192.0.2.1 with your server's public IP address.

   Save and close the file.

10. Create the Traefik route file for Overleaf.

    CONSOLE

    Copy

    $ nano traefik-routes/overleaf.yml

    Explain Code

    Powered by Vultr AgentBeta

    Add the following configuration. Replace overleaf.example.com with your registered domain name:

    YAML

    Copy

    http:
      routers:
        overleaf:
          rule: "Host(`overleaf.example.com`)"
          service: overleaf
          entryPoints:
            - websecure
          tls:
            certResolver: le
      services:
        overleaf:
          loadBalancer:
            servers:
              - url: "http://sharelatex:80"

    Explain Code

    Powered by Vultr AgentBeta

    Save and close the file.

    The Overleaf Toolkit does not add Traefik labels to its generated containers. This static route file tells Traefik how to reach the sharelatex container on the internal Docker network without requiring labels.

11. Create the Docker Compose file for the Traefik container.

    CONSOLE

    Copy

    $ nano docker-compose.traefik.yml

    Explain Code

    Powered by Vultr AgentBeta

    Add the following manifest:

    YAML

    Copy

    services:
      traefik:
        image: traefik:v3.6
        container_name: traefik
        restart: unless-stopped
        command:
          - "--providers.docker=true"
          - "--providers.docker.exposedbydefault=false"
          - "--providers.file.directory=/etc/traefik/routes"
          - "--entrypoints.web.address=:80"
          - "--entrypoints.websecure.address=:443"
          - "--entrypoints.web.http.redirections.entrypoint.to=websecure"
          - "--entrypoints.web.http.redirections.entrypoint.scheme=https"
          - "--certificatesresolvers.le.acme.httpchallenge=true"
          - "--certificatesresolvers.le.acme.httpchallenge.entrypoint=web"
          - "--certificatesresolvers.le.acme.email=${LETSENCRYPT_EMAIL}"
          - "--certificatesresolvers.le.acme.storage=/letsencrypt/acme.json"
        ports:
          - "${SERVER_IP}:80:80"
          - "${SERVER_IP}:443:443"
        volumes:
          - /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock:ro
          - ./letsencrypt:/letsencrypt
          - ./traefik-routes:/etc/traefik/routes
        networks:
          - overleaf_default
    
    networks:
      overleaf_default:
        external: true

    Explain Code

    Powered by Vultr AgentBeta

    Save and close the file.

    Traefik joins the overleaf_default network that the Overleaf Toolkit creates. Binding the host ports to the server's public IP avoids a conflict with the Overleaf container, which binds to 127.0.0.1 on the same host. Port 80 handles the Let's Encrypt HTTP challenge and the HTTP-to-HTTPS redirect. Port 443 serves all proxied HTTPS traffic.

Deploy with Docker Compose

The Overleaf Toolkit starts MongoDB, Redis, and the Overleaf application container. Traefik runs as a separate service on the same Docker network and handles TLS termination.

1. Add your user account to the docker group to run Docker commands without sudo. This is required for the Overleaf Toolkit scripts to function correctly.

   CONSOLE

   Copy

   $ sudo usermod -aG docker $USER

   Explain Code

   Powered by Vultr AgentBeta

2. Apply the new group membership to your current session.

   CONSOLE

   Copy

   $ newgrp docker

   Explain Code

   Powered by Vultr AgentBeta

3. Run the Overleaf Toolkit doctor script to verify all dependencies are installed correctly.

   CONSOLE

   Copy

   $ bin/doctor

   Explain Code

   Powered by Vultr AgentBeta

   The output displays the host information, dependency checks, and the Docker daemon status. Verify that all dependencies show status: present and the Docker daemon shows status: up.

   Note

   The warning about SIBLING_CONTAINERS_ENABLED=false is expected for the Community Edition. It indicates that users have full access to the sharelatex container resources during LaTeX compiles. Only use this mode in environments where all users are trusted.

4. Start the Overleaf containers in detached mode.

   CONSOLE

   Copy

   $ bin/up -d

   Explain Code

   Powered by Vultr AgentBeta

   This command starts the following services:

   • sharelatex: The main Overleaf application container.
   • mongo: MongoDB database for storing user data and project metadata.
   • redis: Redis server for caching and session management.

5. Check the status of all running containers.

   CONSOLE

   Copy

   $ bin/docker-compose ps

   Explain Code

   Powered by Vultr AgentBeta

   Output:

   NAME         IMAGE                         STATUS
   mongo        mongo:8.0                     Up (healthy)
   redis        redis:7.4                     Up
   sharelatex   sharelatex/sharelatex:6.1.0   Up

6. Start the Traefik reverse proxy container.

   CONSOLE

   Copy

   $ docker compose -f docker-compose.traefik.yml up -d

   Explain Code

   Powered by Vultr AgentBeta

7. Verify that the Traefik container is running.

   CONSOLE

   Copy

   $ docker compose -f docker-compose.traefik.yml ps

   Explain Code

   Powered by Vultr AgentBeta

   Output:

   NAME      IMAGE            STATUS
   traefik   traefik:v3.6     Up

8. Confirm that Traefik has applied the route and provisioned the TLS certificate by checking the logs.

   CONSOLE

   Copy

   $ docker compose -f docker-compose.traefik.yml logs traefik

   Explain Code

   Powered by Vultr AgentBeta

   The log output contains entries indicating that the route was applied and the certificate was obtained from Let's Encrypt. Initial certificate provisioning may take a few seconds after the container starts.

Access and Configure Overleaf

Overleaf requires an administrator account before you can create LaTeX projects. The registration page is available at the /launchpad path on first access.

1. Open your browser and navigate to the Overleaf launchpad page. Replace overleaf.example.com with your registered domain name.

   https://overleaf.example.com/launchpad

2. Enter an email address and a strong password in the registration form.

   

3. Click Register to create the administrator account. You are redirected to the login page.

4. Enter your administrator email and password to log in to Overleaf. The welcome page displays after a successful login.

   

Create Additional Users

1. Navigate to the Admin panel. Replace overleaf.example.com with your registered domain name.

   https://overleaf.example.com/admin

2. Click Manage Users to view the user management interface.

   

3. Use the user management interface to create new user accounts or manage existing users.

Create and Compile a LaTeX Project

Overleaf supports multiple simultaneous projects. Each project has its own editor and a PDF compilation pipeline that runs inside the sharelatex container.

1. Navigate to the Overleaf project dashboard. Replace overleaf.example.com with your registered domain name.

   https://overleaf.example.com/project

2. Click Create a new project and select Example project from the available options.

   

3. Enter a name for your project, such as My First Document, and click Create.

4. The editor opens with a default LaTeX template.

5. Make some changes, then click Recompile to compile the document.

6. Verify that the PDF preview panel displays the compiled document.

7. Click Download PDF to download the compiled document to your workstation.

Conclusion

You have deployed Overleaf Community Edition on Ubuntu 24.04 using Docker Compose and secured the installation with HTTPS through a Traefik reverse proxy. The platform manages MongoDB, Redis, and the Overleaf application, with TLS certificates provisioned and renewed automatically through Let's Encrypt. For more information, refer to the official Overleaf Toolkit documentation.